Positive and Negative Aspects of Life
by ShirokuroNoKitsune
Summary: Sometimes opposites are more alike than you'd like to notice. This shows more in Naru and Zen, the Uzumaki twins with a plan to change the world for the better.
1. Lost, and Found Broken

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

**I Do Not Own Naruto!**_  
_

_ I really hope you like it! If so, make sure to review. If I get enough I'll put up the next chapter!_

_ **[Edit] I put in line breaks to make it easier to notice scene changes.  
**_

Chapter 1- Lost, and Found Broken

* * *

Lost in the woods was not the best place for two four year old girls to be. Even more so because of the shadowed person watching them with a glint in his eyes and a wide grin making him look as if he'd just won the jackpot. 'Finally,' He thought, 'I can finally capture those demons.'

Unknowing to the malicious intent hanging above them, the girl leading, Uzumaki Naru, turned to her twin with a small grin, hoping she wouldn't be too angry, "Um, Zen-chan, I think we're lost…"

Zen gave and exasperated sigh and frowned, "I _thought_ you said you knew where we were going, Naru-chan."

Naru's eyes widened slightly, "Of course I _knew_ where we were going, I just don't _know_ anymore. I think we took a wrong turn back at the mossy oak tree…"

Zen narrowed her eyes, "If you hadn't noticed, Naru-chan, we've passed _tons_ of mossy oak trees; we are in a _forest_, for kami's sake. You just forgot where it was, didn't you?"

Naru frowned lightly and relented; she always hated it how her sister could so easily pick out when she didn't know what she was doing.

Zen laughed lightly at her sister's grumbling, "I'm not mad, Naru-chan. I kinda figured you didn't know."

Naru pouted and turned away from her sister.

"Come on, Naru, lets rest for a while," Zen said, and they sat back to back.

"Nee-chan, do you feel kinda, I dunno, sleepy?" Naru asked, resting her head on her sister.

"Ya…" Zen answered, just moments before they were both asleep.

Meanwhile, the shadowed man laughed to himself at how easy it had been to kidnap the demons before jumping down to bag his 'prizes.'

* * *

Darkness faded into and out of Naru's sight as her eyelids fluttered lightly. From what she could tell, she was alone in a room lit only by a single light dangling overhead. It seemed like she was alone, and if Zen wasn't in the same room as her she sincerely that no one else was, "Zen, are you here?" She shouted lightly, just in case she was there too.

"_Zen, are you here?"_ A voice mocked before laughing, "And why, pray tell, would she be?"

Naru's eyes widened and she looked to the voice. A man walked out of the darkness, pale with glaring golden eyes. She glared right back, "Where is my sister?" She demanded.

He laughed again, "Oh darling she'll be taken care of, just like you. You two are my new _play toys_…"

Naru gasped in horror, "You have to let us go! Jiji will come for us! He'll find us, and he'll kick your ass!"

The man's cold, cruel laugh resounded throughout the dark place before being replaced by the screaming of two young girls.

* * *

It had taken a whole month before the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had found that his favorite twins were missing, and it only happened because he overheard one of the girls' caretakers talking to another jonin about how the 'demons', as she'd put it, were finally out of her hair.

Frankly speaking, he was pissed. Pissed that he hadn't been told, pissed that they were so happy, and pissed that they just couldn't get it through their thick skulls that the twins were not demons.

Growling, Hiruzen called for four AMBU teams to be sent out to look for the children.

* * *

"Hello, darling, how are you today?" The hissing man was back.

"As well as an abused captive can be, I suppose," Zen remarked. The man was evil, abusive, and revolting, but he spent the time to teach them and feed them over the two years that they've been in his grasp and she'd be lying if she said he treated her worse than the villagers. It was the silver haired one she hated.

He chuckled quietly at the everlastingly similar response, "And how were your lessons?"

"Other than the fact I hate our teacher, I suppose you could say they went well enough."

He nodded, well acquainted with her hatred for the silver haired man, "Well, never fear, Kabuto-san has a mission to be going on soon, so I'll be teaching you."

"How could a captive do anything but fear? You attempt to treat us as children but you know quite well our mindset is well above that of a six year old because of your mental and physical torture," Zen retorted.

"You make me seem like such a bad person, Zen-hime," The snake said.

Zen glared lightly, "Could it possibly be because of the fact you are a bad person who experiments on human beings to try to reach a frivolous goal that continuously causes you to become more and more utterly insane?"

He laughed again before taking in the appearance of his captive. She sat delicately on the edge of a huge four poster bed in an exquisite room, dressed in a baby blue, frilly, princess-like dress with black lace. Her hair was long and curled elegantly and her cobalt blue eyes, only slightly lighter than the pair owned by her sister, were forced into the coldest glare he'd ever seen. He smirked slightly, "Now, now, Zen-hime, what's gotten you into such a bad mood this afternoon?"

"Other than the fact that it is Naru and my birthday again and Jiji's probably given up on looking for us by now? Nothing at all," She said, eyes reverting from the cold glare to a blank stare so unfitting of the emotional blue eyes he had observed of the girls back before taking them.

"I see. Well, that gives us more time together, now doesn't it?" He said.

The glare returned even colder than before and a scowl graced her face but she said nothing, standing gracefully and walking away from him.

He didn't turn to her when she finally spoke up, "You do realize that we hate you, right?"

* * *

Jiraya of the Sanin had decided visit his goddaughters and sensei for a while, but when upon arrival he told of their demise he'd stormed out to search for them. They couldn't be gone. He wouldn't allow that. It was either he find them or Kushina and Minato would never forgive him for not taking care of their young princesses.

* * *

It was late, and the snake man and Kabuto had finally left, saying they wouldn't be back until noon tomorrow.

'Perfect,' the twins thought together, knowing they would finally get out.

Naru and Zen had been planning their escape from the snake, Orochimaru, from the day they were kidnapped and knew exactly how they would go about getting out. They knew all the traps, the twists, the turns, and hidden passageways of the hideout and knew their plan of action, and had been itching to escape ever since Zen had announced their plan was complete.

Now, dressed in the simple shorts and t-shirt they used for training, they crawled through the final passageway to safety, smiling proudly as they saw the moonlight shining through the clearing to the exit.

Exiting the thin passage, they took a moment to check their surroundings before running, full speed, forward. They didn't care where they ended up, as long as it was better than their living area of the past two years.

* * *

Orochimaru smiled as he felt the presence of the twins slip away from his base. He was proud that his princesses had found the way out, and couldn't wait until they met again.

"Orochimaru-sama, the twins have escaped, shall I go after them?" Kabuto asked.

"No, Kabuto, we'll let them escape this time. After all, we've already succeeded in analyzing their bloodline and know it is of no help to our purpose. We'll see them again in the future," Orochimaru smirked and went inside his hideout.

* * *

Jiraya was hopping through the trees when he sensed them. Two huge chakra signatures were headed towards him, and it almost seemed like the chakra itself was jumping for joy. He headed to the source, hoping the owners of the nearly identical signatures were who he thought they were.

Upon arrival, he looked down to two little six year old girls running through the woods. He smiled in relief. He was right.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" He shouted.

The twins froze and turned slowly towards him, faces pale with fear. They slid closer together.

He jumped down and held up his hands in the signal for peace, "Hey, now, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm Jiraya of the Sanin, and I came to rescue you, but it's pretty obvious you can save yourselves."

They looked weary and stayed at a distance, but it was clear they were more at ease with him. He noticed how similar they were, with matching cobalt blue eyes he remembered both of their parents had and being the same height.

He smiled as gently as an aged ninja like himself could, "Now, what are your names?"

The red haired one that looked oh-so similar to their mother hardened her hollow eyes and spoke, "Uzumaki Zen, and this is my sister Naru. Why did you look for us? We've been gone for two years! Didn't they give up already?"

"Yes, they did. But I didn't. I could never give up searching for my goddaughters. You two are the only family I have left," He said honestly. He could tell from the look in her eyes she didn't believe him, but she didn't say a word.

Her sister, Naru, glared at him, "If you're our godfather, then why did we live in an orphanage for four years of our life, huh? Why weren't you there? If you care enough to search, why did you let us get kidnapped in the first place?"

The girls shared a look before saying bluntly, "We don't trust you."

He smiled sadly at them. He remembered the letters and pictures of the girls, where they were all smiles with life filled eyes and much too trusting for his liking. Now, though, their mouths were permanently frowning with empty, lifeless eyes as they bluntly said they didn't trust him. And for him, that translated to 'We don't trust anyone but ourselves.'

It was becoming a known fact for him that things that were lost were often times found in shambles. Just like his poor goddaughters.

They were lost, and found broken.


	2. It's Your Choice

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

Chapter 2 – It's Your Choice

**_Anyway, the usual disclaimer (I own Nothing), along with a thank you to all who read, and an apology for posting it so late! I'll try and get the next one out ASAP._**

* * *

It's your choice.

Zen hated the phrase. Whenever someone said it, they were obviously expecting you to side with them, and then when you didn't they'd be disappointed, angry, or sad. Zen hated those emotions, because before her kidnapping they were focused intently on her and her sister every day, and their time with Orochimaru taught her that those emotions just brought pain.

Naru, however broken she might be, was still naïve and believed that it was _truly_ her choice, and always took the time to talk it over with Zen, even if Zen would tell her that it truly _wasn't _ their decision, just a way for the person saying that to get approval of their thoughts. Naru chose to pointedly ignore her sister when she said that.

They were back in Konoha, having awoken from a sudden slumber to find themselves facing the white walls of a hospital, and were standing in front of the aged Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and their proved god father.

In past times, Naru might have laughed at the two elder occupants of the room, but now being the broken, dark individual she was she stared blankly at them. Zen didn't even blink as the simple talking escalated to shouting, flipping a page in whatever she was reading, when Naru noticed her face gain a look of complete concentration as she glanced up at Naru then back down at her book and then finally to the fighting men.

"Enough!" Zen wasn't screaming, but her voice held the same, if not more malice than if she was. The men quieted and looked into her carefully blank visage.

Zen stood up next to Naru and held her book for all to see. Inside was a smiling picture of the Yondaime Hokage on one page and a red-haired beauty on the next. The twins were almost identical to them, and the ever-observant Zen noticed, "Explain," she ordered, no room for discussion in her voice.

The men were slightly miffed at being ordered around by a six year old, but complied seeing the knowing glare on her face, sighing in defeat.

The Hokage shared a glance with Jiraya before turning to the girls, "That is the Yondaime Hokage and late Uzumaki Kushina. That must be the page on their past where the Yondaime saved Kushina"

Zen and Naru both gave him a flat look. Even Jiraya was looking at him oddly.

Zen face palmed, "Yes, Jiji, we kinda knew that. I was _asking_ about the resemblance."

Hiruzen stayed silent, confirming her guess.

"I see…" She said, "I'm going to be out for a little bit," She grabbed a pair of scissors off his desk, "And I'm borrowing these."

She then walked out of the room, anger floating off of her. Jiraya stared after her.

"Why did she just take a pair of scissors and storm out?"

Naru glanced over, "Make her mad while we're traveling with you and you'll know."

"So you're going with Jiraya's decision?" The Sandaime asked.

Naru nodded, "I feel it would be best for us not to be in the village alone, and seeing as none here would take care of us and Jiraya can't stay because of his spy network, I find it our best choice. Gomen, Ojii-san."

Hiruzen smiled, and three days later he was watching his surrogate granddaughters leave the place that had ruined their childhood, not even glancing back as they disappeared down the winding road to their future.

He knew all along this was the best choice for them, and it was obvious the two girls knew it too. He recalled a time when they were young where they wouldn't have chosen this path, a time when they were young, trusting, and pure.

He remembered shy little Zen, who hated being the center of attention and hid behind his leg in front of everyone, and he knew even the people who thought wrong of both her and Naru thought she was absolutely adorable.

He remembered energetic little Naru, who could always be found running around and playing. She was the exact opposite of her twin and was constantly standing proudly in front of her sister, the bravest little girl he could ever remember seeing.

They worked great as a team, Zen mellowing out Naru's energy while Naru talked enough for the two of them. They were both extremely curious children, and when there was something to investigate even Zen's timid demeanor would completely vanish as they talked adamantly without even finishing sentences. Those times really reminded him of how much he had lost along with the girls.

Of course, they were back now, but their previous attitudes about life weren't. Long gone were sparkling eyes and smiling faces and left in their wake were only blank, empty shells of the children that used to be.

He had faith in Jiraya, though, an knew in the bottom of his heart that the girls would come back at least halfway back to the energy balls they were before. Another feeling in the pit of stomach made him fear they would ever _truly_ be the Naru and Zen he one knew, and deep within he knew it was right.

They were training to become ninja, and all aspiring ninja changed drastically from the fun loving children they once were to become the strong saviors they all wanted to be.

As he walked back through the village, he heard whispers going around, and knew that the villagers knew the twins were gone, and it disappointed him that they were so happy about losing to _innocent children_.

He shook his head in shame at his village and silently swore to the girls that the ninja village Konohagakure would be back to the way it was when his reign as Hokage started.

And this time the one thing he wouldn't say to the villagers about the change was the one statement Zen hated most.

It's your choice.


	3. Four Years

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

Chapter 3 – Four Years

_I own NOTHING_

_**EDIT- I fixed the spelling of Neji's name.**  
_

So, I should probably tell you that when I say 'as soon as possible' I really mean 'as soon as I want to'. Ya. Sorry about that. I hope you guys still remember what happened and are still willing to read this. And aren't afraid that I died. I'm a horrible person.

Any who, let's get this show on the road. Sit back, relax, grab yourself a bucket of popcorn, and commence your journey into my insanity.

* * *

Four years is a long time. Quite enough time, in fact, for things to change drastically in a hidden village. It doesn't, however, mean that that happened.

As Zen stared stoically over the edge of the Hokage monument, everything seemed exactly like it was before. The people were happy and the children ran around playing. She had even spotted one that looked exactly like the picture of a young Third Hokage that she'd seen in a book.

She hated it; hated the fact that they could act so innocent and happy when just four years ago they had driven two innocent six year-olds out of their village. She wanted them to feel the amount of pain they had dealt on her and her twin. She hated them.

"Zen, are you going to mope there all day?" Jiraya. He'd really taken to bothering the twins. Zen more so than Naru.

"It was my intention, yes." Zen replied in her usual monotone.

Jiraya sent her a flat look before grabbing her by the legs and hoisting her over his shoulder.

Zen's eyes widened and she let out a short shriek, "Oji-san! Let me down!"

Jiraya chuckled heartily, "No can do, Zen-hime."

Zen glared at him as he ran across rooftops. Being able to observe things at top speed was always so cool; the way they sped past your field of vision, leaving blurs of color in their wake.

She was jerked out of her thoughts as she was dumped onto the ground on the grounds of a building that was eerily familiar. The ninja academy.

"Now that you're back, Ero-sennin, mind telling us why we're here?" Zen looked up at the angry face of her sister. It was obvious they'd been dumped there the exact same way.

Jiraya chuckled and helped Zen up, "You'll see," He said before disappearing.

Zen looked in her hand where her godfather had left a letter sealed tight. It had the name "Umino Iruka" on it.

Zen blinked and looked up at the academy, "I'm going to go ahead and assume he's a teacher here."

"Do you thin-" Naru started.

"Yes." Zen intervened, knowing already what her twin was thinking.

The Hokage and their Godfather had sent them here to become students.

Zen and Naru exchanged glances and nodded. The two culprits would _definitely_ have something to answer when they got to them, but for now they had a mission. And they never failed a mission.

Naru led them confidently into the building. It had always been a bit of a habit to let Naru lead, even if Zen wasn't the naive, shy little girl she had been in the past.

They walked down hallway after hallway until they found a room labeled "Umino Iruka," just like the envelope. Zen was about to knock on the door when Naru extended her leg into a powerful kick that sent the door off its hinges.

"Message to Umino Iruka from the Hokage," Naru announced easily.

"There is a thing called subtly, Naru-chan," Zen reprimanded lightly.

Naru glanced at her sister and smirked. She obviously had a plan that could very well turn out the exact opposite of what they wanted.

Naru turned her head to see a shocked looking teacher and class, before grasping Zen's wrist, fixing a grin on her face, and walking up the teacher.

"I'm very sorry for the interruption of your class, sir," Zen said, releasing herself and bowing formally, "We were sent with a message from Hokage-sama," She straightened herself and handed Iruka the letter.

The stunned teacher reached out to grab the letter before reading it quickly, "So you two are to join my class? My name is Umino Iruka. Could you please introduce yourselves?"

Naru took the initiative to go first, "Of course, Iruka-sensei! Hi, my name is Naru Uzumaki and my dream is to be the first female Hokage, dattebayo!"

Hokage? _Dattebayo_? Naru hadn't said either of those in _years_.

As Naru bounded up the stairs to two empty seats, Zen inwardly smirked. So _that's_ what she's planning. Deception.

Zen bowed lightly towards the class, "Ano, my name is Zen Uzumaki. Please excuse my sister's flamboyancy," just to get the wanted effect of 'shy girl,' Zen allowed herself to blush in embarrassment before heading over to her sister.

* * *

Later that day, right before it was time to leave, their year in the academy was scheduled to have a fight with the class one year ahead of them. Apparently, they did this at the end of each week to check what they needed their students to improve on. This week their elders got to choose their sparring partners.

Zen sat calmly in the shade of a nearby tree, watching them fight silently, while Naru stood a few feet away cheering loudly. Zen smiled in amusement at her sister's childish antics.

She noticed that the only one from their year to actually beat one of the older kids was an arrogant looking boy named Uchiha Sasuke, who was fought by a boy who was too confident for his own good. The Uchiha boy looked proud of his win, but Zen saw how badly the older boy was at fighting.

Soon enough, a girl with buns in her hair was told to choose her opponent. Tenten, Zen could have sworn that was what she heard for the girl's name. Tenten scanned the crowd before her eyes landed on Zen's jumping sister. Or, more precisely, they landed on the pair of tonfas hanging from her utility belt.

"You," Tenten said, pointing directly at Naru, "Let's see what you can do with those tonfas."

Naru grinned and bounced up to the circle they were to battle in.

Giving her tonfas a little spin, Naru got into a very shaky and incorrect form of the first fighting style she'd ever learned for the tonfas. Zen got the feeling she was trying to look like an amateure.

Iruka yelled start and Tenten took a bow staff out of a scroll. Naru twirled her tonfas a few times before running at her sparring partner, unleashing a volley of twirling hits, all of which Tenten blocked easily before going for a hit to the stomach. Naru saw and swung her tonfa down to block too early. Tenten changed the course of her attack and sent Naru flying through the air with a powerful blow to the jaw. Naru allowed herself to fall flat on her back and block another attack by Tenten, who had come running after her.

Naru growled lightly and swung one tonfa up at Tenten's face, which she blocked, but the other quickly followed down at her stomach. Tenten stumbled back holding her stomach and Naru flipped up from her position on the ground, stumbling on her feet. Tenten took a chance to attack Naru with a jab to the stomach followed by a swing to the head. Naru blocked the jab but had to jump back to avoid the hit, effectively ending the match by exiting the arena.

"Oh, man! That was just getting fun too! Maybe we can spar again next week, Tenten. I'll train real hard!" Naru exclaimed.

Tenten smiled, both panting heavily, "I'll look forward to it."

They both walked over to the sidelines to talk about weapons as the next person was called up.

This 'Rock Lee' kid seemed… interesting, to say the least. When he walked out, everyone seemed to laugh at him and he seemed almost… lonely. But he was determined. Zen could see it in his eyes as he picked a young Hyuga girl named Hinata.

"This could be interesting," Zen said, sitting up taller than usual.

There was a scoff from nearby, "Don't count on it. Lee is a weakling who can only use Taijutsu and Hinata-sama is afraid of her own shadow."

Zen jumped slightly. She hadn't really expected anyone to sit near her. Or reply to her, for that matter. She looked over at the person, who was sitting against a tree a few feet away. He had pure white eyes and long black hair with white bandages covering his forehead.

She shook herself out of her musings to reply quietly, "You never know, they could surprise you."

He scoffed again before turning his attention to Zen, who had already turned hers back to the soon-to-start brawl.

Over the years, the girls had changed their appearance to make them seem more like the ninja they had been trained to be. Their hair, once long and beautiful, had been cut short, half in attempt to keep it out of their way, half to help rid themselves of the memory of Orochimaru. They wore clothes that Zen had used her extra time to design and give to Jiraya, who had them made by his favorite tailor.

Lee seemed to attack solely using brute force, while Hinata, being a Hyuga, used her families style, albeit shakily. Zen noticed that Hinata's fighting style looked like she had spent hours practicing it, but she didn't seem to be capable of actually doing it. Jiraya had taught them once that while most believed there was only things like speed and flexibility that went into fighting, there was also confidence that went into fighting. Hinata's fighting made it obvious she didn't have that.

Lee, however, was overly confident, but his style was messy as if someone taught him it wrong. Zen's eyes narrowed, watching the fight like a hawk. The fighters obviously both had something they were afraid of.

Hinata seemed to be very uncomfortable using her fighting style, and jabbed tentatively, like she feared hurting Lee. Lee, however moved speedily, punching and kicking more like he was street fighting or boxing. He didn't seem to be able to get a hit on Hinata, who brushed away many of his attacks with one hand while jabbing out with the other hand. They exchanged many attacks, none of which seemed to hit, until finally Lee's body seemed to just stop moving and he fell over.

The boy sitting near Zen scoffed and turned to her, about to gloat about being right before seeing the dark expression on her face as she furiously wrote down something on a note pad. He stared at her as she returned her gaze to the two fighters, glaring as if she thought something were wrong.

Zen growled lightly before barking out for Naru and staring into her eyes. Naru and Zen stared at each other for a moment before exchanging nods and turning back to their previous engagements.

Zen watched as many other people were called to fight before finally getting bored and standing.

"Where are you going?" The boy asked, causing Zen to jump lightly, having completely forgotten about his presence.

Zen looked back at him, "Does it really matter?"

He stared.

She glared back before turning away and continuing her walk into the small forest of trees on the school's grounds. Or, at least, she would have, had she not been grabbed around the wrist and sat back down by the boy who had been near her.

"You aren't allowed to leave until you've fought," He said simply before standing up to hear the next person called.

"Hyuga, Neji," Iruka called.

The boy smirked and grabbed Zen's wrist again, pulling her with him into the ring.

Zen glared as he let her go and dropped the bag she'd brought with her onto the ground near her sister. "Where do you get off treating other people and their things like that?" She growled.

He simply smirked.

She sighed and replaced her anger with the timid girl from in the classroom. She just stood there across from him as he entered his stance and was told to start.

Neji rushed forward upon seeing that she wasn't about to begin, seeming to be more interested in a passing blue bird. He sneered at her before launching an attack at her.

He'd expected to hit a solid wall and hear a startled noise, but was surprised by the open air where the girl had just been. He was startled yet again as he has drop kicked from above. Zen followed her kick by flipping swiftly away. He glared at her and activated his byakugan before going in for another attack. This time, he smirked as she simply jumped back, lading lightly on the very edge of the ring, and he sprinted forward for another attack.

Zen smiled lightly as he ran forward and upon him appearing a few feet away, she jumped down, rolling into his legs and causing him to fall face first behind her, one foot placed just barely out of the ring.

"Winner, Zen Uzumaki!" Iruka shouted in awe, startled at how the timid new girl had easily beaten the Hyuga prodigy. No, he thought, Neji wasn't beaten, he was outsmarted. Zen hadn't gone to hit him once.

Neji stood slowly, glaring at the girl who had beaten him, who looked even more shocked than the collective audience, sitting on the ground with no sign of getting up. He stood in front of her and held out his hand for hers, deciding that since they were going to the same place that he would at least help her get there.

She stared up at him for a moment before taking his hand gently and letting him pull her up. "I'm sorry," She said quietly, "I really thought that wouldn't work."

He stared at her, confused. "Why apologize?"

She looked at him for a moment before turning away, "No reason. Thank you for helping me up," she replied before grabbing her bag and walking away from the group just like that, followed closely by her sister, who waved at Tenten as she left.

Jiraya and Sarutobi stared at the girls through the Third's looking glass, sighing. Yes, a lot of things could change in four years.


	4. Hell

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

Chapter 4 – Hell

_I own NOTHING_

Truth be told, I almost completely forgot this chapter, I was so wrapped up in planning the next few. I'd classify that as being good news for you, knowing that I already have four more chapters ready to be written after this. Maybe I can get them done today…

EDIT- Fixed the line Breaks. I can't see why they never stay in there...

OH MY GOSH! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE MONTH? THAT'S BLASPHEMY!

Anyway, keep your body inside the vehicle at all times and enjoy your ride through my mind.

* * *

Hell. That's what Konoha always was and always will be to the twins. As they made their way from the academy to the Hokage tower, they couldn't help but notice the stares that followed. Stares that surfaced memories long buried by newer, better ones made on the trip with Jiraya. But there was a difference between the stares from the Konoha they knew and the Konoha they were in now.

Naru remembered the stares from before vividly. Filled with hate and remorse most of the time, and sadness and regret other times, there was never really a kind look sent towards the twins, and it made Naru shudder to remember them. These stares, however, were more the stare a child would give to a toy in a window or a new kid in class. They didn't seem to recognize the twins at all.

Naru was slightly puzzled by that. How do you forget someone you spent four years tormenting endlessly? Sure, they looked slightly different, but the townspeople looked at them like they were aliens.

Suddenly, a girl ran up to them, smiling profoundly, "Hi! I'm Emiko! Who are you? Where did you get your clothes?"

Naru and Zen shared a look.

"I'm Haru and this is Aki," Naru started, "Aki designed them."

"Oh my gosh, that's so cool!" She said. There was a shout from a house nearby, "I gotta go! Bye!"

Naru and Zen watched as the girl ran into the house before continuing on. At least the street wasn't completely silent anymore. People seemed to have stopped being interested in them now.

Naru led them through long ago memorized streets to the Hokage's building, and they were both slightly memorized by how little time had touched in the four years they had been gone. People talked cheerfully together, children ran around in the crowds, vendors shouted enthusiastically, and people completely ignored them. The Hokage's tower was still in the very center of town, still the large red building that hosted the most powerful ninja in the ninja village.

They walked through the door and down the grand hall to the reception desk, announcing they were there to see the Hokage before taking a seat on a comfortable couch nearby.

"Isn't it odd?" Zen asked quietly.

"That they didn't seem to recognize us? Of course it is," Naru replied, tilting her head back to stare at the cracks racing across the ceiling, "Then again, we left in rags. We were dirty and short and we looked so different than we do now. We're practically new people now, sis."

Zen shook her head, "No. We're the same as we were before. The people here just couldn't see something if it was placed in front of their faces. They don't want to believe that we're back, so they let themselves believe we are different people. They don't want to face what they did."

Naru let her eyes shift to her sister for a moment before rising back up to the ceiling, "I suppose you're right.

"Naru and Zen Uzumaki? The Hokage will see you now," The receptionist called.

Naru took the lead again, leading them to a pair of large, dark wood doors that she pulled open without knocking. Zen shook her head, hiding a smile, at the amount of disrespect she showed towards their Hokage.

"Jiji, you have some explaining to do!" Naru shouted angrily.

"Hello, Ojii-sama," Zen said as she entered behind her sister, taking a seat next to Jiraya in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Hello, girls. How was your first day at the ninja academy?" Sarutobi asked calmly, ignoring Naru's outburst.

"It went quite well, Ojii-sama," Zen answered, anticipating a very different response from her twin.

"Cut the crap, Jiji! We know all about your creepy stalker jutsu," Naru said.

Jiraya snickered.

Sarutobi smiled lightly, "Alright. So, would you like to live back in your old apartment again?"

"Is Jiraya-Oji leaving again?" Zen asked.

"I'm afraid so, Zen. I still have to run my spy network," Jiraya replied, "I'll be back by the time you can join the Chunin exams, though."

Zen nodded and Naru gave a sad look, but relented anyway.

"Then, the apartment should be enough for us. It always was before, and there were two extra rooms, anyway," Naru said.

Zen agreed, "We'll have to furnish it, though. The things there are most likely too small for us now."

Jiraya nodded and handed her a scroll, "This should be enough so you can live comfortably until I get back. There's a bit extra there, too, in case you need something really expensive."

Zen smiled, "I figured you'd be ready for that."

Naru smirked, "I'm gonna design my own room!"

Jiraya and Zen both flinched at that, knowing how terrible her sense of style was.

Sarutobi smiled, "Now I believe we should let you get settled in before it gets dark. Jiraya, you should go help them."

* * *

It had taken a few hours, one of which was spent convincing Naru to let Zen pick out everything for every room but Naru's own, but they were finally back at the apartment they'd grown up in, now newly furnished and designed for the now much older twins. There were three bedrooms, one for each of the twins and one for a guest, a bathroom, and an open living room/ kitchen area separated only by a breakfast bar.

They had finished and went to dinner at a restaurant in town before settling back into their rooms in the apartment.

As she laid in her orange-clad room, snuggling into her big orange comforter, Naru thought back on the day. It actually hadn't gone as badly as she had originally thought it would. She had anticipated many more explosions than had actually happened. She had expected hateful glares and abuse. Contrary to that, though, she'd made a new friend, got to design her own room (With slight interference from Zen, who made it so that not everything in the room was orange, explaining to Naru that if it was she wouldn't be able to find anything.), and there hadn't been any explosions at all, which was slightly disappointing. With that final thought, she let her eyes droop down and blackness to consume her.

* * *

It seemed as if Naru had just gotten up when she was rudely awakened by a bucket of freezing cold water. Not only had that made her chase Jiraya around the house for ten minutes, but it had also caused her to scream, waking up Zen. Zen, realizing what had happened, had promptly reprimanded them for running in them house and then Jiraya for getting Naru's bed all wet, to which he simply placed a seal on her bed to dry if off. Zen then yawned and looked at the clock before telling them to get dressed and walking off to her room.

Once they were all dressed and out of the house Zen locked the door and made a mental note to make a seal to put on the door to keep out intruders, and then they headed out for the last day they had until Jiraya had to leave.

They went out for breakfast, Zen put buying food onto the list of things she needed to do, and then they spent the day having fun until lunch, where they went to eat again before heading back to the apartment to pick up Jiraya's things.

"Now girls, don't forget to put security seals up on the house and to buy groceries," Zen nodded, having already remembered that, "And don't stop training. I left some training regimes on the bookshelf in the living room. You'll probably want a calendar, too," Jiraya rambled.

"Oji-san, we'll be fine," Zen said calmly, "I've got it. We'll be waiting down at the gates."

Naru nodded and ran out, Zen smiling lightly and leaving after her.

Jiraya smiled. He couldn't believe they had grown up so fast. Sure, they were ten times more mature than any other kid their age, but he had a feeling they'd be the exact same if their parents were still living. And they'd gotten better, too. Zen was nearly over her Stockholm syndrome, even if he agreed that Orochimaru had treated them slightly better than the villagers had, and Naru seemed eager to become what she once was again.

Before he went to meet up with his girls at the gate, he made a pit stop at the Hokage's office.

"Hey, sensei."

"Hello, Jiraya, you're leaving today, aren't you?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yep. I just came by to say goodbye. Take care of my girls while I'm gone, won't you?" Jiraya asked.

"Of course, that's what grandfathers are for, isn't it?" Sarutobi said.

Jiraya smiled and nodded before jumping out the open window and heading to the gate.

Sarutobi watched as his student jumped away with a smile on his face, "You've really become attached to the twins, haven't you, Jiraya?" He moved his eyes to the picture of the Yondaime, "You would be so proud of your little girls, Minato. Kushina, too."

* * *

Jiraya landed right behind the twins at the front gates, and was about to scare them when the ones he was behind vanished from existence and he was tackled to the ground.

"An ambush!" He shouted, flipping the twins off of his back and tickling them furiously. They giggled like maniacs, even after he had stopped, and he couldn't help but think about how much he loved moments like these. Moments where they acted like this.

He couldn't help but wonder if this is what they would have acted like had they never been kidnapped. Had they never been abused. Had he been there for them in their time of need. He often wondered that, especially in times like this where they were smiling like they had no cares in the world.

He watched as they caught their breath and helped them stand. He watched two carefree smiles revert back into the outer facades of two tortured girls, and then into the new faces they'd made for school, a brash, loud girl and a quiet, intelligent one.

He wondered about that, too. Would they act like that if they hadn't gone through what they had? Did they have those parts of them inside them somewhere? He often thought of what could have been and would have been. It upset him to think that had he been there everything would be different.

He smiled at the girls, "Now, be good and go to school, okay? Don't cause too much trouble for the Hokage. He's old, you know, he wouldn't be able to handle it," They laughed lightly, "And you had better write me back, okay?"

"Alright, alright, you old pervert, just leave already!" Naru said impatiently.

"Naru!" Zen reprimanded before turning towards him, "Bye, Oji-san. We'll miss you so much. Don't forget about us, okay?"

"I promise I won't," Jiraya said before enveloping his girls in a hug, "Goodbye for now."

He let them go and turned around, walking out. They waved at him until he was out of sight, and then Naru ran forward and yelled, "You better come back alive, ya old grandpa!"

Moments after she said that, Zen noticed a seal glow on the top of the opening above Naru and giggled lightly as water flowed down on Naru.

Naru steamed at that. She growled, "That old man…" she stepped forward again and yelled, "Geezer, when you get beck here I'm putting you through hell!"


	5. The Best of Friends

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

Chapter 5 – The Best of Friends

_I own NOTHING_

_Edit- I went back and fixed some things. It dosen't change the story anyway. If you see any mistakes in the chapters, please take the time to PM me about it. _

**I just want to say thanks to everyone who reads this. Thanks you for comments and follows and favorites and patience. Thank you for reading!**

**This chapter. It's sort of a filler of something that happened between the last chapter and the teams. **

**And so, with that out of the way, prepare yourself for what may or may not be the best story you'll ever read. It doesn't matter to me which one it is.**

* * *

The best of friends can often be made in the oddest of situations. It's something that happens around everyone, including one certain pair of twins. Zen's situation occurred a few hours after Jiraya had left Konoha.

Zen had decided that since she had nothing else to do she should finish that to-do list that had been grating on her nerves since she made it. She was just browsing an outdoor calendar stand when she noticed the large crowd of people gathering around the entrance to Konoha. Being curios at heart, she let her instincts lead her from the stand to the front of the group, eyes widening as she caught sight of a pair of boys a year or two older than her.

They stood covered in blood and eyes bloodshot in the middle of the gate, a pair of mangled bodies lying on the road between them. Zen realized that this was what happened when clients lied about the severity of the missions they were requesting. Teachers and students died.

Zen frowned deeply at the thought, but turned away to continue her shopping. As soon as her back was turned, she heard her name called.

"Zen!" She turned to see the Hokage, "Could you stay here?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Naru was across town walking down a street obviously reserved for the older, more important ninja clans, when she happened upon the end of the road, split two ways. One end seemed to go to the clan house bustling quietly with very formal looking people, while the other was another clan ground that was the equivalent of a ghost town. Deciding that neither clan would much appreciate her presence on their grounds, she continued through the dirt road separating the two clans, glancing between them.

To Naru, it seemed as if the clan houses themselves were in some sort of never-ending feud. She noticed the clan symbols, one some sort of fan and the other a simple circle with a red flame burning within. The Hyugas and the Uchihas. She should have guessed as much.

She stopped as she reached behind the compounds, looking through the trees that now separated the clans from each other to see the clan grounds. She shook head at the two, wondering why in the world they would even have this feud. She froze, however, when she heard small sniffles on the Hyuga side.

Naru's eyebrows furrowed in question and she pushed past the foliage onto the Hyuga compound, careful not to be seen by anyone, even if it seemed like the entire clan had gone inside for some reason or another. She treaded lightly, following the sniffles that increased in volume with each step she took. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she came upon a girl around her age with short blue hair curled up in a ball crying.

Naru approached the girl and sat down in front of her, letting her calm down on her own. The girl looked up, startled at the fact someone had found her.

"Hello."

The girl stared at Naru, "A-ano, hello…"

"You were crying; would you like to talk to me about it?" Naru asked, completely serious about it.

The girl looked away, "You shouldn't be here; these are private grounds."

Naru nodded and stood, "Of course. My name is Naru; it was a pleasure talking to you. If you need to talk, you can always come find me. I'll listen."

With that, Naru swiveled around, not sparing the boy standing not far from the two of them a second glance, only letting the thought that this was the boy Zen had fought in the academy pass by her mind before slipping back onto the trail between the trees, deciding to go get some ramen somewhere.

Hinata let her tear stained face linger in the direction the girl had gone for a moment. To her, Naru had had such a friendly aura, but she seemed to know her kind of loneliness. She turned back to where Neji was standing in front of her with a look of hatred on his face.

"You're father wants you _Hinata-sama._ I would suggest cleaning yourself up beforehand."

Hinata shivered lightly and nodded, standing and heading back into her house.

* * *

"Who are these guys?" Naru asked as she returned home to see her sister sitting in their living room with a pair of boys, one with deep purple hair and the other with pastel green.

Zen turned her attention to her sister, "It's a long story, but basically the Hokage told me to make sure they're okay. He's afraid they'll go crazy after seeing their team killed in front of their faces."

Naru nodded lightly in understanding, "Names?"

The green haired one spoke first, "My name is Shido Tsuyo. This is Saiyo Kiai."

"Tsuyo and Kiai, hmm; Pleasure meeting you. My name is Naru Uzumaki."

Naru sat down in a chair near Zen and pulled out an empty scroll and ink brush, "So what are we doing?"

* * *

It wasn't until after school on Monday that Naru saw Hinata again, and when she did it was a strange sight.

Almost directly after school, maybe half an hour after it had ended, Naru and Zen had been walking down their road when they suddenly felt someone running after them and Naru was tackled in a hug by a teary eyed Hinata.

"Naru, I want to talk now," She cried.

Naru smiled softly and put a hand on Hinata's head, "Come on; we'll go to my house."

They finished their walk to the Uzumaki household without a problem, and Zen opened the door for them, walking in after they were through the doorway. While Tsuyo and Kiai were there they managed to help the girls decide a training schedule, which managed to get their minds off things for a while and the girls had been quite busy that weekend, so the rooms were messier than Zen would prefer. Naru steered Hinata into the large plush chair Naru usually used and sat down across from her at the couch.

Zen, meanwhile, had gone into the only truly clean room in the house, the kitchen, to make something for their guest. She watched over the breakfast bar as Naru sat calmly waiting for Hinata to calm down enough to talk coherently. At the whistle of boiling water, she finished putting things together before carrying them into the living room and setting them on the coffee table.

"I wasn't sure what you would prefer, so I brought a bit of everything. I would suggest Chamomile or Lavender to calm your nerves," she said, carefully mixing her own, which was actually hot apple cider.

Hinata turned towards her and nodded thankfully, smiling nervously and making herself a cup of tea. Naru reached forward for a cup of blueberry tea, smiling at her sister.

"So, I don't believe I ever caught your name?" Naru asked.

"It's H-H-Hinata…" Hinata stuttered.

Naru nodded, "So what would you like to talk about, Hinata?"

"W-Well… It's my father. I am too meek to actually try to harm anyone with the Hyuga fighting style. It just doesn't fit me very well. My father is very displeased about this. My younger sister is even better than I am! I just don't want to harm. I want to protect!" Hinata said.

Naru smiled, "Why does it matter what your father says? You're you, and that's all that should matter to him."

Hinata smiled lightly, "But I am the clan head's daughter."

Zen decided to chirp in a thought of her own, "Why not just change the Hyuga fighting style to fit you better?"

Hinata's eyes widened, "But such an ancient fighting style? It would disgrace my family!"

"Every fighting style has its weakness, and if too many people use it the same way somebody is bound to find out," Zen replied.

Hinata let that sink in for a moment, "But-… but I don't even know where to begin…"

"Then you'll train with us," Naru stated firmly, "And maybe we'll work on your self-confidence while we're at it!"

* * *

It was Friday again, and Zen decided to sit under the same tree as before to watch the matches, a bored expression on her face. It was their turn to choose their opponents, which meant she would be the last one to choose a sparring partner.

She watched as child after child chose an opponent much stronger than they were and get beaten terribly, with the exception of a bare few, including an Aburame and surprisingly Hinata. Zen smiled as Hinata jumped in excitement with Naru, laughing gleefully.

"Humph. That's the girl who broke into our compound," She heard Neji say from above her, and she just _knew_ he was referring to Naru.

"You mean my sister?" She said, looking up to shoot him a bored look.

He smirked and jumped down to sit next to her, "Of course you two are related. You act so similar."

She turned to give him a skeptical look, "And you're so sure of that?"

"Of course," He replied, completely confident in his reply.

She scoffed, "Whatever you say, Neji."

"What is your name, anyhow?" He turned on her.

She glanced back up at him, "Why?"

"Well, I'd like to know the name of the girl who beat me."

She smirked, "You'll figure it out soon enough. I don't think I'll get to leave without a rematch, anyway."

He glared lightly at her, "You are such a smart alec."

She smirked, "Why of course."

He shook his head, rolling his eyes, before turning his attention to the match currently going on, "It's surprising she was able to do so, though. What have you been teaching her?"

"Not a thing," Zen said, before standing and pulling him up, pushing him into the arena, "You should really pay more attention. Sasuke-san is about to attack you where you sit."

Neji turned around slightly to stare at her before turning back to the kid across from him. Apparently they wouldn't be having their match today. For some reason he was slightly disappointed at that.

When they were told to start, he recalled his fight with the girl and let Sasuke make the first move, which didn't take long. Sasuke rushed forward to hit Neji, but he swiveled around Sasuke, landing a glancing blow to the side before following with another hit to the back.

Sasuke flew forward before regaining his footing and turning around to aim another hit at Neji. Neji ducked under, but wasn't prepared for the second fist that sent him sprawling on the ground. Neji kicked up his feet, flinging Sasuke over him and delivering a low blow at the same time. Sasuke glared at his as he writhed on the ground, just outside the line.

"Winner, Hyuga Neji!" Iruka announced.

Zen smiled from the sidelines as Neji trotted back towards her, "I guess that means our fight will be after school, then?"

Neji nodded his acceptance.

"At least you got more action this time, right?" She said lightly.

"Wasn't last time your fault?" He turned to her with a smile and an eyebrow rose.

She giggled lightly, "I suppose so."

They watched as Naru picked Tenten and they battled it out in silence.

The match started off with a small taunting match between the two, before Tenten ran in, aiming a tonfa at Naru's middle and head. Naru jumped from the ground to the first and then the second before flipping over Tenten and lashing out with a tonfa at Tenten's back, which was skillfully dodged as Tenten jumped forward, spinning to face Naru. They smiled at each other as they fought just like friends.

Naru began rapidly spinning her tonfa, forcing Tenten to back up, close to the line. Tenten noticed and smirked, firing out a low attack and a higher attack. Naru jumped high over these, but had to flip in the air as Tenten lashed out again at her in the air. Naru landed behind Tenten, right behind the line. They looked down at where she stood before looking back up at one another and bursting out in laughter.

"Tenten wins!" Iruka announced, "Can I have Uzumaki Zen in the arena.

Zen smiled and walked away from where she was standing with Neji into the circle. She looked through all the people left to be picked, which was a small few, before her eyes landed on the bowl cut boy, Rock Lee, was it? She smiled and motioned for him to join her in the ring.

"Yosh! I have the chance to beat the youthful flower that beat Neji-san!" Lee exclaimed, and for a moment Zen thought of letting him do just that, before shaking the thought out of her head and replacing it with the thought to take him down a few notches.

They stood there, facing one another, Lee motioning for her to come at him and her staring off at the sky, mumbling about how it might rain soon. The crowd staring chanting for them to fight and Lee rushed forward. He was _fast_. Too fast.

Zen smirked as she realized his weakness. She flipped over him and ran to the side he was originally at, watching as he skidded to a stop and turned to her, running again. She flipped again, and ducked over the flying jump kick aimed at her head, rolling under the boy. He went to dropkick Zen when she flipped up, used his face as a springboard, and landed gracefully on the opposite side of the field, turned away from him and tracing the line with a foot.

She decided to play Venus fly trap again, and as he ran forward to spin kick her out of the arena, she moved as if she would jump over him. He smirked as he changed the direction to hit where she would have jumped to, had she not simply rolled under his long legs. She stood behind him with a small smile as she used the fact he stood one foot to kick against him, placing a small hand on his back and shoving him lightly out of the arena.

He landed face down on the ground, and his class laughed at him. Zen didn't. She stood stoically, staring out at the crowd with a blank look, and as they noticed it, their laughter died down nervously until all was silent. Lee rolled over and saw the look in her eyes, causing him to flinch slightly as she turned back to him to offer a hand with a smile.

Lee nervously took it, and once he was standing he rubbed the back of his head, "Thank you for the great fight! I promise I will get stronger!" Receiving a nod, he grinned.

Zen smiled lightly and said lightly, "You have a little something… there," She gestured to his entire face, caked in dirt from the fall before turning away.

Lee rubbed at his face to get the dirt off and then ran off yelling about youth. As she returned to the sidelines near Neji, he frowned at her, "You were toying with him," He observed.

"I was trying to teach him a lesson. It doesn't really seem like it hit home, though, does it?" She sweat dropped.

He smirked at her.

They sat together, watching as everyone dispersed. Naru and Hinata had even left to go wait for Hinata's father in front of the school. Finally, when only Iruka was left, staring at them in confusion, they approached him to ask if he would referee their match.

Iruka agreed with a smiled and let them position themselves across from one another in the ring.

* * *

As Naru stood with Hinata in the front of the building, watching the others slowly trickle away with their parents, they grew steadily worried by how late he was. That's not to mention the sudden absence of Zen and Neji, either. As the last of the children left, they let out the breath they'd been holding as Hiashi Hyuga walked in. With the Hokage.

"Jiji, what brings you here?" Naru asked, startled.

He smiled, "I decided to come see how you and your sister were doing. Where is she anyhow?"

Hinata and Naru shared a look before each shrugged with a carefree look on their face, "No idea," they said together.

"If I had to bet, though," Naru began.

"And we all know how good she is at that," Hinata continued.

"We'd say she was still behind the building," They concluded.

Hiashi and Sarutobi shared a look at the way they were talking, but led the girls behind the school to find Neji and Zen in the midst of an all-out battle.

"What the-?" Sarutobi began.

Hiashi stopped him, though, content on watching the battle. He watched the girl closely, and noticed the fact she didn't even try to hit Neji. She just avoided him.

Zen jumped over Neji, arms outstretched, and watched as he skidded slightly to a stop. He growled lightly, "You do realize you'll have to attack sometime soon."

"Why do that when I can irritate you by just avoiding all of your attacks?" She replied, jumping far back out of the way of an open palm. Neji shook his head lightly.

"In a real fight you would have to do more than just lure me out of a circle."

She smiled lightly, "So you mean you want me to attack you?"

Neji gave her a flat look.

"I see," She said. Zen waited as Neji ran up to hit her again, before jumping up and doing a mid-air cartwheel, kicking Neji in the back of the head.

Neji fell to the ground, face in the dirt, and Zen landed a kick to his side, rolling him onto his back. He stared up at her, and she smiled, holding out her hand. "What?" She said, "You told me to hit you."

He let her pull him up and back up slightly before rushing at her again. She smiled, standing perfectly still until he was right in front of her. Zen rolled straight at his legs, bowling him down right over the line. Again.

Neji stood, helping Zen up her position on the floor. He sighed, "I guess I should start anticipating that move more, shouldn't I?"

"Most people don't fall for the same trick twice," She smirked, "At least not that literally."

He glared at her, "You are such a smart alec."

She smiled, "And you need to come up with better insults, but seriously, how _do_ you keep falling for that?"

"I suppose I just wasn't expecting you to use the same move again."

She shrugged.

"Or maybe," Naru interrupted, "You just like her!"

Neji and Zen turned to Naru. Neji spluttered out something while Zen just chuckled lightly. She then noticed the others, "What bring you here Hiashi-sama, Ojii-san?"

"Well," Sarutobi started, "I decided to come pick you two up from school today, and Hiashi-san was doing the same for Hinata and Neji-kun."

Zen nodded in understanding, walking over to where he stood with Naru. The two groups stood together for a moment before saying their good byes and parting ways.

Zen turned, "Oh, and Neji?" She said.

He turned.

"I'm sorry. I knew it would work this time."

He rolled his eyes.

'Yes,' thought Sarutobi, 'They are on their way to making the best of friends.'


	6. Stalking Zen

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

Chapter 6-Stalking Zen

_I own NOTHING_

_Edit- I changed the color of Zen's eyes when they're changed. It doesn't make much difference, but they're silver and not black now. Okay then._

**So, you may have noticed that last time I mentioned teams. Well, those are next chapter. Hope you can wait. **

**So, for any of you who have seen Naruto Chapter 614, this chapter goes out to Neji for being amazing. I originally had a different idea for this chapter, but this one's gonna focus on Neji, I think. That is totally not ever going to happen in this story.**

**Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your experience inside the theatre of my mind, please turn all cellphones on silent as to not disturb anyone. Thank you~!**

* * *

Stalking Zen. That's probably what everyone else would say Neji was doing, but he wasn't. He was simply… watching the competition. He had to make sure _she_ was taking him seriously.

The thing was, it didn't seem like she _ever_ fought anyone out of school. He'd followed her shopping and to her house, and once onto a training ground with the K.I.A. stone in it. But, the thing is, she never did _anything!_

Alas, today here he was, for what he was sure would be his last day following her, mostly because he had better things to do than follow some girl around all day. An incredibly _annoying_ girl, at that.

Neji woke early, got ready, and left to follow her for the day. She started her day normally, getting dressed and leaving to go for a run all around Konoha. He ran behind her, noticing the slower than normal speed. They stopped their jog on top of the Hokage monument.

Zen let out the first smile he'd seen from her and sat on the Fourth's head, "Hi, daddy," She said to the wind.

Neji was startled. She came here every day, but had never said a thing. Was she talking to the monument or him? Or maybe she was just talking to herself? Yes, that seemed correct.

"I've been okay, I suppose. The academy is easy and it doesn't seem like any of the villagers recognize Naru and I since we went on our training trip with Oji-san. I wish you were here, though. There's so much I wish I could ask you."

She seemed to break out of her little trance at that point, though, and her demeanor went back to normal. He watched as she stood and walked away, turning back a few seconds later to whisper, "Have a good day, Daddy."

She left, walking back to her house. He saw her in Naru's window, shaking her sister lightly with a plate of food in her hand. That usually meant she was in a good mood. Zen smiled lightly as she left Naru's room, and he watched through the living room window as she searched around in the kitchen, writing down something every so often.

That was her grocery list, he knew, and after finishing this she would go to the houses of the two boys she had help her with the groceries every time. They all seemed to get along well, and he always heard them calling her princess. He got the strangest feeling every time he heard that.

As expected, she collected Tsuyo and Kiai, and they walked with her to a few different stores, carrying her bags. After they finished, they walked the groceries back and put them away. Naru, by this time, was finished with her morning routine, and they all walked to the library, picking out a few scrolls before heading to a training ground.

This time of day was really the only time he saw Zen in action, and it seemed she only actually fought against Naru. They were both very fast, but while Naru had a wilder fighting style, Zen's fighting style had a certain teasing tempo to it, like she was dancing around Naru in circles, disappearing whenever she got close to her.

Zen, for a while, had stuck to simply dodging, but had gradually been forced to fight back by her sister, and had unsheathed a pair of scimitar, and she danced even better with them. It seemed like her playful dance was only made that much more deadly by the addition of the wonderfully handled weapons.

Naru, too, seemed to be holding much back in the fights at school, and it showed greatly in the way she handled her tonfa. She found a way to integrate them into her every move, and used them better than anyone he'd ever seen. She fought like a mixture of all the best parts of nature, and looked like she was having the time of her life while doing it. It was the only time he saw the two perfectly happy.

In the end, it had always ended in a draw, Zen pointing one or both of her swords at vital points on Naru and Naru doing the same with the hidden blades in her tonfa. The boys would always clap afterwards, smiling at them as they debriefed, telling the girls what they thought they could improve on.

Afterwards, they said their goodbyes, Naru sneaking off to eat ramen and the boys walking away together, talking about what they would work on tomorrow. Usually, Zen would follow Naru ensuring she didn't eat too much, but today she continued on her run. She stopped at the Hyuga compound and picked up Hinata, and seemed to linger going out, looking around for something. He couldn't tell what it might be.

Hinata and Zen both walked calmly down the street, conversing calmly about how her training with Naru was doing, and about a plan of theirs he didn't quite understand. It was the first time this week he'd seen them get together, though it wasn't uncommon, seeing as they did meet at least once in the week.

Neji hated the fact that _his_ sparring partner gave more attention to Hinata, probably because she was the clan head's daughter. He had really thought Zen was different than everyone else on that matter. He supposed he was wrong, though, as the two of them were quite friendly, and whenever Hinata needed help on something she went to Zen.

Zen was patient with the ever needy girl, much more so than he, but that was fine with Neji. He wouldn't help the Hyuga _princess_ even if she begged for it. She sat in silence as Hinata explained every problem, taking a minute to respond as she came up with a solution, and when she did, she told Hinata. Her plans never failed, in his eyes.

He watched as they went inside a weapons shop, the one owned by Tenten's grandfather, and walked around a bit as they waited for the old man to come out from the back room. Neji slipped in, making sure to not let the bell above the door ring, and he followed them. Zen and Hinata seemed to be browsing different weapons, Zen describing what every weapon was and how it worked.

Zen's eyes seemed to linger on one of them, and a smirk crossed her face as she scribbled something down in the notebook she always seemed to have with her. She whispered something to Hinata and Hinata replied with a look that questioned both her insurance on whatever it was and her sanity. Zen simply allowed a crazed giggle to escape her lips.

The small old man appeared back at the front desk with three packages, and they both went up to get them. Zen slipped some bills over the counter along with the notepad. The man studied the pad with a chuckle before heading to his back room, mentioning for her to come back in an hour to pick it up.

The girls left the shop together, walking downtown with the packages. They crossed town to the training ground Zen had visited this morning, where the boys and Naru sat with a picnic waiting. Zen passed the packages out, one to Hinata and one to each of the boys, before motioning for them to open them.  
"They're all weapons Naru and I picked out for you depending on your fighting style and preferences," Zen explained.

Hinata's weapon seemed to come in a pair, and Zen showed her to put them on like gloves. Hinata was then to go through a kata of her Taijutsu adding chakra to the weapons. As she channeled chakra into the gloves, a pair of razor sharp knives came from them, and Zen explained they were made with a complex set of seals that would make sure they would always work.

Tsuyo got a specially made bow staff, laced with many different traps and things to send at the enemy, and it looked strangely like a magician's magic wand. Naru showed him how to do it, and he seemed to take to it like a fish to water.

Kiai got a long bow made to be unbreakable, a set of chakra kunai with seals that caused them to explode after being exposed to Kiai's fire nature chakra, set to explode when he cut his charka off from them. The arrows he got for his bow were made the same way, but even when they exploded they wouldn't break, they would only set off an explosion. They also had a special seal on them, but neither twin said what that seal did.

After getting their new weapons, designed entirely for them by Zen and Naru, the geniuses they were, the twins had insisted they test them out, and so they had a match between the three using their new toys. Hinata seemed to catch on the quickest, and beat the two genin within an hour.

Zen and Naru cheered for Hinata, and they all sat down to get the now-cold packed picnic, agreeing that they would meet there tomorrow and the twins would teach them to properly and skillfully use their weapons. The two genin stayed in the clearing to practice their new weapons, and Naru walked Hinata home, making sure to teach her how to make the weapons on her hands seem like normal gloves.

Neji followed Zen as she started to walk calmly through the woods. He watched as she looked around, staring from place to place, face contorted slightly like she was reliving a very bad memory, and he had the feeling that she was. Suddenly, they both heard a small yipping sound and a fox kit ran behind Zen.

A bear came out from the brush the fox had run out of, stand bipedal over Zen. Neji, shocked, felt the urge to run out of his hiding spot and attack the bear, but he stopped himself, knowing Zen could get out safely. Zen stood perfectly still against the bear, one hand raised as if asking a cat if it wanted to be pet.

He was even more startled when the bear calmed and sat down, running its head under Zen's hand like a cat. The fox kit climbed up Zen to rest on her shoulder, and the bear seemed to understand, standing and tromping away to find something else to eat.

"Little one," Zen said, turning her head to the kit, "Where is your mother?"

The little fox whimpered, ears pressed against its head.

"I see. You can come with me then."

He stood, shocked, as Zen walked off with the fox, seemingly unfazed by the bear attack, judging by the calm look on her face. He shook himself out of the small trance he was in.

Zen started running again, holding the fox in the arms, and not much later they had reached a waterfall. Zen set the fox down and Neji made a point to turn his head away as she undressed and got redressed in a bathing suit. By the time he looked back, the fox was sitting protectively on Zen's nicely folded clothes while Zen sat unmoving on top of a rock at the end of the waterfall.

He was about to let her have her first bit of privacy when he was suddenly pushed into the river by a gust of wind. As he surfaced, he felt the wind drag him up again and watched himself float over the water to where Zen sat, eyes now open. Her eyes were different, though; silver with a purple spiral going through it. She smiled lightly at him and pushed her hand forward, the wind taking him to the edge of the river, where she sat him down gently before hopping down from the rock and walking on the air to him.

"Look what I found; a lost little Hyuga boy. Or is he lost?" She tilted her head.

"Of course I'm not! It was my destiny to be here, and to know my way back."

She raised an eyebrow at the 'destiny' thing, but shrugged anyway, "Really? Because I could have sworn I sensed you following me all day. Guess I was wrong," She moved to face him, "Alright Mr. Destiny-rules-my-life, you just let your precious destiny lead you home from here, okay? I'll take my path if you need me."

He scoffed, "I won't."

She smirked, saying nothing as she got up and flew over the water, picking up her clothes and moving a hand towards herself. A warm wind blew towards them and dried her off completely, and she took the time to get changed before picking up the fox and treading back the way she came, eyes returning to normal.

He watched her go and silently cursed. He had _no_ clue how to get back. He ran after her, "Wait!" He shouted.

She turned with a slight smirk on her face, "Yes?"

He quickly made up an excuse, "Destiny says to walk you home. You could get hurt out here."

"Uh-huh," She nodded, a knowing look on her face.

"It's true!"

"I never said I didn't believe you," She responded.

"Sure you didn't. What was the sarcasm for then?" He asked.

"I don't recall using any sarcasm," She said

"You _just_ did!" He said.

"Uh-huh," She said.

He growled, "You are so stubborn."

She didn't respond, and they walked back onto the main street of Konoha in silence. She told him to wait a moment outside the shop from before and picked up her order, sealing it away before he could see what it was.

He walked the rest of the way to her house with her, and before she opened the door she unsealed the package from before, "For you," She said.

He was slightly startled, but before he could respond she had retreated into her house. He was about to open it when the window above him opened and she popped out her head.

"Neji, don't open that yet. Wait until you get home. Oh, and if you really want to hang out with me that bad, all you have to do is ask. You don't need to follow me around everywhere when you think I can't see you."

He opened his mouth to respond, but she had closed the window already, so he turned to walk back to the Hyuga compound. When he was a short distance from her house, she stuck her head out again, "Goodnight, Neji!"

He turned and smiled back at her as she waved. No, he wasn't stalking her. He was NOT stalking Zen.


	7. Graduation

**Positive and Negative Aspects of Life**

_Written By KuroshiroNoKitsune_

Chapter 7- Graduation

**I own NOTHING**

So I finally came back, huh? You guys must be so angry. Alas, I seem to have finally written the 'teams' chapter, so you can't be angry.

Anyhow, enjoy this chapter, which happens to contain about 99% less Neji in it. Sorry about that.

* * *

Graduation was quickly approaching the twins, and they both were extremely happy, Naru more so than her sister. "Zen, can you imagine? We're gonna be gennin soon! Real ones!"

Zen smiled lightly her seat on the ground, looking up from her scroll. "We'll be on the same team for certain. I've done enough research to know that."

Naru jumped up from the swing she'd been sitting on with a cheer, "We'll be the best team ever!"

Zen chuckled, "We _are_ going to have another person on our team, Naru. You know how it goes."

Naru frowned and sat back down, tilting her head up to look through the tree branches, "I wonder who that'll be…"

Zen sighed, "Probably Sasuke. He's the only one close to beating me for the rookie of the year title. They always pair the best boy, the best girl, and the dead last together."

"Aww, do we really have to work with that teme?" Naru whined.

Zen shrugged, "We'll know soon enough."

* * *

In the Hokage tower, Sarutobi grimaced, having watched the twins' conversation through his glass ball. He sighed and turned back to the door as his Jonin walked in. 'I'm sorry girls, but I have a feeling you're going to be disappointed with the turnout of the teams.'

* * *

Zen watched as Naru walked into the main room after her test. She looked like she had deliberately tried to fail, but failed that instead. Covered in sweat with a shiny new headband on her head, she sat down next to Zen.

"You passed," Zen stated.

"Yup. Just barely, though."

Zen nodded and stood, walking into the next room. 'This is gonna be a piece of cake.'

* * *

Two days later, the twins sat next to one another, waiting for Iruka to enter their former classroom and assign them to teams. Naru sat with her legs crossed, one bouncing excitedly, and Zen sat on the desk in front of the seat next to her, feet propped up on Naru's still leg and eyes casually scanning the room from behind the covers of a copy of the bingo book. Naru grinned at her sister and laughed mischievously. Zen simply shook her head with a fake nervous giggle. Even acting as the shy sister of the pair, Zen couldn't stand her sister's façade.

Iruka walked in, causing everyone to look at him. He opened his mouth to speak, noticed Zen sitting on the desk, and chuckled lightly before continuing again. She never really did things the conventional way, did she?

Both Naru and Zen didn't even attempt to listen to his speech, talking to each other in a series of glances, facial expressions, and hand gestures as Iruka spoke. Knowing them, they had sat through one of these before, hiding outside the window or in the shadows of the back of the classroom, so he didn't bother trying to stop them. Sakura, however, decided this wasn't acceptable.

"Iruka-sensei! Naru and Zen aren't listening!"

Iruka frowned, "I know. And don't interrupt me, Sakura."

Zen shot a look toward him before spinning to face him, "N-no, sir, S-sakura-san is c-correct. We should really pay attention. Please continue," And with that she placed her feet on the back of a sleeping Shikamaru, who shifted slightly in response.

Iruka sighed, knowing that even though she said that they still wouldn't pay attention, so he continued. At the end of his speech, he picked up the paper off of his desk that listed the teams.

"As you might know, each year we split the class into teams of three, but this year we have one extra person, who has been placed with a pair of gennin who lost their previous sensei and teammate. This person was specifically chosen by their new sensei, so it changes up a few pre-determined teams," Iruka explained.

Zen's eyes widened slightly and she glanced back at Naru with a frown.

Naru smiled lightly, "It won't be you. They wouldn't separate us."

Zen smiled back, but was still worried. 'The Hokage would split us up _because_ we work so well together, to force us to work with others. Naru seems to think otherwise, though.'

"Team 7 consists of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura," Iruka listed, "And… Uzumaki Naru. Sorry, girls."

Zen nodded solemnly, but Naru was angry.

"Wait, so I'm not on the same team as my sister, but I have to be on the same team as Uchiha-teme? How is that fair?"

Iruka started to respond, but Zen turned sharply and responded before him, "Naru, Jiji wants us to fight with others. He knows we can fight together."

Naru pouted, but stayed silent.

Iruka was startled at Zen's outburst. She hadn't stuttered once, but instead displayed the same amount of confidence that she did when she was fighting. He cleared his throat before continuing, "Ahem. Anyhow, Team 8 is Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Team 9 is still in use," That was Neji's team, "So Team 10 is-"

"The Ino-Shika-Cho trio," Zen interrupted.

Again, he was startled, "Um, yes, that's right. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji."

"And I'm the extra," Zen finished.

Iruka nodded sadly, "I'm very sorry."

Zen simply smiled, "It isn't your fault."

* * *

The team senseis were all coming to pick up their students, and as such Team 7 and Zen were the only ones left. Naru and Zen were locked in what seemed to be a staring contest, Sakura was fawning over Sasuke, and the Uchiha himself was glancing at the twins, thoroughly creeped out. They hadn't blinked in two hours!

Suddenly, glass was sent flying around the room, and a white blur crashed to the floor, followed by a purple one, resulting in a cloud of smoke that caused the gennin to cough. Naru's eyes closed. Zen smirked triumphantly.

"I win," She stated simply, blinking a few times.

Naru frowned and turned to the clearing smoke cloud, where a woman stood on top of a half living man. She grinned and turned to team 7.

"Hey, Team 7, I brought you your sensei!" She exclaimed before turning to Zen, "Ahh, Zen, sorry to keep you waiting."

Zen didn't know who this woman was, or how she knew her name for that matter, but she really wished the woman wasn't her teacher.

"My name is Anko, and I'm your new sensei!" The purple-haired lady exclaimed.

Zen sweat dropped, "Well, I'm screwed."

* * *

Naru sat with her team on top of the academy; frowning lightly in the direction Zen had been dragged by the crazy woman who claimed she was her sensei. What were they supposed to do _now_?

It wasn't supposed to be like this! They were supposed to stay together, as a team!

Naru turned back to her sensei as he started speaking.

"Now, time to introduce yourselves."

* * *

Zen's 'sensei' stopped dragging her behind her when they had reached the Hokage monument. Anko turned to Zen, with a face much more serious than Zen thought she was capable of making.

"Now, Zen, there is a reason I requested that you be put on my team because of your past experiences. I have common ground with you, because we were both experimented on by Orochimaru. I can help you get over it."

Zen's eyes widened as she stared at Anko. 'How can she still be so cheerful?'

Anko smiled, "Come on, Zen, we have a team meeting to get to."

Nodding, Zen followed Anko to a training ground nearby. Standing near the entrance, she could see two forms, noticeably boys. Upon arrival, she almost felt like smiling. At least she would be able to deal with this team.

"Hello Sensei, Princess," They echoed.

Zen smiled at the two, walking forward to sit between them. "How are my boys?" She asked.

* * *

"Now, little blonde one, it's your turn," Kakashi, Naru's perverted sensei, said.

"My name is Uzumaki Naru; I like my friends, family, and gardening. I dislike discrimination, ignorance, and torture. My hobbies include gardening, training, and creating new jutsu. My dream is to become the Hokage, and make sure no one ever has the past I had."

Kakashi seemed to smile behind his mask, and Naru's teammates were startled by her maturity. Naru simply smiled.

* * *

Zen, Tsuyo, and Kiai realized sooner rather than later that their sensei was completely insane, but for some strange reason it didn't bother them. Anko had come right out and stated that they were going to be a first response/infiltration team. She had also mentioned the differences between them and the rest of the gennin, saying that while they would have an all-out spar to see what their strong and weak points were, the other gennin would be tested to see if they could work as a team well enough.

As such, that brings us to the three gennin, who were facing one another at three separate points on the field. Zen smiled lightly as they started, walking calmly to the center instead of running to the others. An arrow sent at her head was dodged easily, and she danced around blows from Tsuyo's staff. One of Kiai's arrows hit the ground in front of both her and Tsuyo, and she watched as Tsuyo was blown back, having guarded herself with a simple wall of air.

Scimitars in her hands, she maneuvered her way to Kiai, knocking his bow out of his hands. She smirked, dropping one of her swords and placing a palm to his forehead. Her chakra created a pattern as it rushed through her hand, and upon taking her hand away you could see a light shimmery seal on his head, middle kanji labeling it as a sleep seal.

One opponent down, Zen jumped up into the air, narrowly avoiding a strike from her second teammate. Feet landing nimbly on the end of his staff that was held behind him, Zen rushed forward to place a numbing seal on him before he could deploy any of his traps. Moments before she reached him, an explosion blew her into the air, and Kiai jumped up after her.

As if in slow motion, Zen watched the tip of the bow staff racing towards her, and reached her hand out to meet it, a seal forming easily at the tip of her mind. "Nullifying seal!" She shouted as they made contact.

Zen hit the ground hard, coughing up smoke from the collision, but flipped to her feet. Her chakra searched around her, looking for Kiai, and upon sensing him, Zen began one of her most deadly attacks.

She jumped from her spot, hopping over Kiai multiple times in a star-like shape. Finally, she returned to her original spot, hands forming a strange seal. "Seal set. Star seal: Elemental Guillotine!"

Shock waves of all five main elements came rushing towards Kiai, and as he was still recovering from the last blow, he simply froze in place. The attacks had barely hit him when they suddenly went limp and dissipated. Zen jumped over to him and placed a sleeping seal on his head before examining the light cuts and smiling, knowing that if she hadn't stopped the attack he would have been chopped to pieces and had many more drastically harmful things happen to him. Her attack was working.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naru was sitting at home, mulling over her sensei and why he might tell them not to eat before their meeting tomorrow. She knew her sister well enough to know that Zen would force her to eat anyhow, but Uchiha and Haruno definitely would take the bait and not eat. What could this test be about, anyway?

Whatever it was, Zen would know, of that she was sure. Whether or not Zen would tell Naru was an entirely different story, though. Zen always prided herself on her knowledge, stating that Naru should try and find the answer before coming to her, so Naru would know just as much as she did. Then again, Naru never was as studious as Zen.

Instead of trying to look it up in a book, Naru decided to ask Tenten. It was more of an excuse to go talk to her, as they hadn't spoken to each other since Tenten's graduation from the academy, but she still needed to know the answer.

Jumping out of the window of her house, Naru made her way to Tenten's house, ready to ask her all about the second set of gennin exams.

* * *

Anko had been slightly startled that Zen had defeated her teammates so easily, and even more so at the jutsu she had so kindly displayed. After waking up the boys, the team made their way to a dango shop in town, where they began to discuss ways that the students could improve. Tsuyo, they decided, was a bit slow, and even slower still in his recovery time, while Kiai needed a way to fight close-combat. Anko decided that Zen needed to refine some of her better skills, such as her Kenjutsu and seals, while learning to fight more than one enemy at once.

They were also told that they would be learning assassination and infiltration skills, along with team attacks. In order to balance out their specialties, they would start planning out strategies and refining each individually. Kiai would stay hidden for the time being, sniping down enemies with his bow, while Tsuyo would keep the enemies pre-occupied. Zen would dance around the enemies, planting her hits precisely.

They smiled as they walked out of the restaurant, happy to be on this team. They were strong, and their teammates would help them get stronger still. Zen, being the antisocial person she is, was glad to know she didn't have to learn to trust any new people. The boys were just glad that Zen was happy for once.

Tsuyo and Kiai smiled at each other as they linked arms with their little princess. Tomorrow, they were all going out to celebrate, everyone in their group in fact, and they would make it memorable for their girl. After all, she and Naru were the reason they were all together. Zen, though, was their reason for living on.

They could remember the day that they had met. The day they had made their way back from the worst mission ever, their eyes bloodshot and their minds scarred with images they never wanted to see in the first place.

They had made it to the gates, dripping with a mixture of both theirs and their dead teammates' blood. A crowd gathered fast, and they stood on guard, even though they knew they were safe. They watched as eyes grew wide with horror, and faces contorted with pain. The Hokage forced his way through the crowd, stopping at the front with a face full of sadness.

A girl with long red hair slipped to the front, her eyes curious. Upon seeing their condition, her mouth turned down slightly. Kiai found this girl interesting. Her reaction was different, and much less disgusted than everyone else's.

She wore a simple outfit: a white off-the shoulder short sleeved shirt, purple shorts, and black ninja sandals. In her arms were a few bags, each filled with different things people could use. She had braided her hair, allowing it to hang over her shoulder, and her bangs were tucked away from her stormy blue-purple eyes with a pair of black pins.

She shook her head and turned around, but the Hokage had seen her. "Zen! Could you stay here?"

She turned to him, nodding consent, and walked forward. Sarutobi called a team of ANBU to his side, directing one to take Zen's things to her house and the others to clear the bodies and clean up the mess. He turned to the red-headed Zen with a sad smile.

"Zen, you know as well as I do that it isn't safe for them to be alone right now. Here," He handed her a pile of money, "Take this, get them cleaned up and dressed, and then take them to your house. Help them calm down, okay?"

Zen nodded and walked forward, "Hello. My name is Uzumaki Zen," She didn't wait for a reply, "I don't expect you to be talking right now, after that traumatic experience, so just follow me."

She led them to a bath house, where she paid for them and instructed them to bathe and that she would be back soon to pick them up. Once they were finished, they realized that their old clothes were gone, and new things were in their place, with a note on top of them. Written in long, flowing handwriting was a message.

"Dear Boys," it began, "These are your new clothes. I am waiting outside. See you soon. Signed Uzumaki Zen"

It escaped them how she had managed to get these into the men's dressing room, but they changed quickly and left to find their guide. When they found her, Zen was sitting calmly on a bench, one leg over the other, immersed in a book that they didn't see the title of. Once she noticed them, Zen stood and brushed herself off, motioning for them to follow her.

They were taken to her house, or what was apparently her house, where she offered them tea and told them to make themselves comfortable.

The first thing Tsuyo said to her, an hour after they had arrived, was, "We should just quit being shinobi, shouldn't we?"

"Well," She replied, "If that's what you truly believe, then yes, you should. There isn't a place in the ninja world for those who doubt themselves."

Kiai was startled, "We couldn't do anything against them, though! We couldn't save our teammates!"

"Did you try?" She sent a look towards them.

They shook their heads.

"Hmm…" Her eyes went fuzzy for a moment, "I see."

"How is that?" Tsuyo asked.

"You're alive," She replied simply, "And I understand why you didn't try. Next time, though, you will know better. You don't abandon your teammates."

They watched as she sipped her tea calmly, "So we really should quit…"

"Go ahead. It's not like your dead sensei and teammate will know that you're just going to bail on their sacrifice," Zen shrugged.

Kiai and Tsuyo's heads shot up, "What?"

She set down her cup and opened her sharp eyes to stare at them. "They died so that you could live, so that you could get away and continue fighting. If you want to just dismiss that, then fine. It isn't my place to tell you what to do."

Kiai's head drooped down, "You're right…"

Tsuyo stood, "We will continue fighting!"

Zen smiled lightly, "I'm glad."

And so, she had saved them from depression and guilt, giving them a reason to continue living. They knew they owed her their lives. Soon enough, they had arrived at Zen's house, hugging her goodnight and reminding her of tomorrow's activities.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naru sat on her bed, staring off into space.

Tenten had told her everything she knew of the second graduation test, of how her test worked out, but even so, Naru still wasn't sure what it was. It was different for every sensei, Tenten had said. So then, what would hers be like? Thinking it over, Naru came up blank as to what the point was.

Hearing the door close, Naru stood. She walked to the kitchen, where Zen was cooking with a content look on her face.

"Zen, welcome home," Naru said.

Zen turned slightly and smiled at Naru, "Hi Naru."

"So who's on your team?"

Zen placed a lid on whatever it was she was making on the stove and walked around the bar to sit next to Naru. She smiled as she replied, "Tsuyo and Kiai."

"Really? You're so lucky!" Naru said.

Zen nodded, "So what's the matter?"

Naru's face turned serious, "What is the point of the second gennin test?"

Zen frowned, "Well, what do you know?"

"I know how Tenten's went," Naru answered, "And I know that every person has their own test, but I can't find the point in it."

Zen nodded, "So, how did Tenten, Neji, and Lee pass theirs?"

"Tenten, Neji, and Lee all worked together to beat their sensei, Gai." Naru said.

"They worked together. What does that mean they did, exactly?"

Naru thought for a moment, "They managed to prove they could work as a team?"

Zen nodded, "Exactly. That's all they want to see."

"So, whatever the test is tomorrow, all I have to do is prove that the team can work as a team? That sounds simple enough."

"Except that it's highly unlikely with Sasuke and Sakura on your team," Zen pointed out.

"I know," Naru said, "It's going to be difficult, but I'm sure we can do it. We'll beat this and we will graduate for good."

Zen nodded. "Of course you will."

With that, they finished dinner, ate, and did their nighttime routines. Zen went to bed instantly, and Naru could only think one thing before she fell asleep.

'We are definitely going to pass this graduation.'


End file.
